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About Findon
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The Findon Valley Residents' Association is a charity registered in England and Wales: 267009
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Anecdotes from The Worthing Sentinel 21 July 2010 In 1925 EC Waterman, of 9 Alexandra Road, gave up the front of his property, for a distance of 2102 ft so that Findon Road north of Offington Corner could be widened to 30 ft and a footpath provided. During the summer of 1925 police reckoned 400 cars and motorcycles passed through Findon Village (before the bypass was built) per hour, but many broke the 10mph speed limit, clocking up 25-30mph. In 1891 Worthing Town Council considered an application for a ventilation pipe in Warwick Gardens so potentially explosive gas could escape from the sewers. The applicant's name was Mr Whiffen... true! In 1946 Lieutenant-Colonel WEG Connolly, of 14 St George's Road, died. He was a former member of Worthing Town Council and had a distinguished military career. He joined the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1886 and later commanded the 11th Sudanese Regiment of the Egyptian Army. During the Great War he commanded the 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers and fought at Loos and in Salonika. In 1937 a new cemetery was opened in Findon, but it was separated from St John the Baptist Church by the new bypass. In 1940 the Reverend Norman Haigh, curate-in-charge of Findon Valley, said, "Hitler's belief is that he can frighten the British people into surrender before the autumn. If he fails he will have failed to win the war, and the great tide of power will begin to turn upon our side." In 2002 a pair of giant bloomers belonging to Queen Victoria caused national interest when they went on show at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery. 14 July 2010
In 1803 wealthy stockbroker Edward Ogle, nicknamed King Ogle, the unpopular owner of Warwick House and Steyne Gardens, offered a reward of five guineas for the apprehension of a man named James, lately groom of the Duke of Northumberland, who he suspected of stealing tack from his shop. In 1925 Cissbury Ring, described as the finest of all prehistoric earthworks and beauty spots on the South Downs, was presented to the National Trust, thereby preserving it from housing development. Mr Clare Jerrold, in his book 'Picturesque Sussex', said it was here that ancient man made flint implements, the Romans watched the coast from Beachy Head to Portsmouth, and grew vines on its slopes, and the Spanish Armada was probably seen trying to beat up Channel. In 1935 Madame Emily Tate, wife of Frank Grahame of Richmond Road, was a professional pianist who performed for many of Europe's royal households. Before the Russian Revolution she lived at the Tsar's Imperial Court, teaching princes and princesses to play, and as a teenager she was presented with a diamond studded gold watch after performing for Queen Victoria at Osborne House. Her friends included Tchaikovsky and Liszt. In the same year hundreds of people gathered on the Downs between Hill Barn Lane and Cissbury Ring to watch motorcycles racing. Also in 1935 the Odeon screened its first true technicolour film, 'Kid Millions', which prompted a commentator to claim that all movies would one day be in colour. In 1978 Black Beauty star Stacy Dorning went horse riding on the Downs above Hill Barn while appearing at the Connaught Theatre. In 1979 actress Diana Dors visited the Connaught Theatre to watch her friend Jess Conrad starring in the rock musical 'Leave Him to Heaven'. She and her husband Alan Lake joined him on stage at the finale. In 1948 Beach House, Brighton Road, was described as "a gem of Georgian architecture" during a public enquiry to decide whether it should be pulled down or not. The Mayor, Councillor L Bentall, was among those who wanted it demolished. In 1891 Alfred Cortis, the first Mayor of Worthing, launched a public appeal to alleviate the suffering of the town's poor families whose men folk were thrown out of work by a prolonged severe frost. He hoped to supply people with weekly doles of coal. In 1926 a lady artist from London kept white peacocks in the garden of her Findon home near The Gun Inn. They were a popular sight with passengers on buses going through the village. In the same year Findon motor engineers W Russell Goodman and K Ian Goodman, accompanied by his wife, were planning to drive around the world in an 11.9 hp Morris Cowley. They took with them jazz instruments to perform concerts on their travels. Does anybody know whether they completed the trip and what became of them? In 1979 Worthing Hospital treated 60 people with wasp stings during a single weekend in August. 7 July 2010 In 1890 Robert Ernest Blake, son of an eminent Worthing townsman clung for 13 hours to the rigging of a ship called the Irex, en route from Rio, which sank in a January storm near the Needles. The survivors admitted they had abandoned all hope when they were finally rescued. 1951 was the year when a pair of wrought iron gates at the entrance to the Warren School in Broadwater were dedicated to the memory of Miss Gertrude Ashworth, for 37 years the school's headmistress. After the Warren School was closed, the gates bearing the initials 'GA' were removed to the south entrance of Beach House Park, where they can still be seen. 1951 was also the wettest year for Worthing, since records began 64 years previously. In the same year the Downs Stable at Findon, which included a flint Georgian farmhouse, 23 boxes, almost 20 acres of pasture and 52 acres of downland gallops, came up for auction. It was formerly owned by racehorse trainer, Booby Gore, who had two Grand national winners, Jerry M in 1912 and Covertcoat in 1913. Jerry M was buried in the grounds but the hooves were taken off and turned into inkstands and pen rests. In 1972 Worthing staged the prestigious World Bowls Tournament at Beach House Park, where a two-week season cost £5 and a day ticket 50p. In 1960 singer Frankie Vaughan, his wife and two sons took a house in High Salvington for the summer to escape from the bright lights and pressures of London. He said, "I am enjoying my stay in Worthing where they accept me as a family man and where I am allowed to relax." In 1954 Fred Perry, Worthing FC's back, signed professional forms for Liverpool. In 1998 a campaign was launched to save Findon's historic Gun Inn from closure and probable redevelopment as homes. In 1935 a commentator glimpsed inside the new Southern pavilion of Worthing Pier, which was under construction. He described it as "the skilful use of glowing colour set off by beautiful grained wood - a fine example of modern architecture." In 1913 for the first time, a motor bus linked Worthing to Chanctonbury Ring, Salvington Hill and Long Furlong. Two years later, in 1915, the Sussex Yeomanry, which had about 50 Worthing men in its ranks, boarded a train at Canterbury on 21 September bound for Liverpool. They boarded the troopship Olympic, a former liner, and set sail for Gallipoli. A sergeant among them was GV Paine. They landed at Cape Helles on 7 October.
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